There are different groups of people who had come out and spoken about how US President Donald Trump’s presidency were affecting their lives, and among these people are the immigrants. Ever since the campaign period started, Trump swore he would build a wall in the US and that he would send back immigrants to their own countries.
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Aside from the immigration ban, Trump also said that there would be stricter rules to follow in acquiring a US visa, which alarmed a lot of Filipinos. The number of Filipino immigrants in the United States continue to grow each year and in return, more Filipino families depend on an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) to get by.
A fake article circulated in the internet saying that Trump assured that the United States will continue issuing visas to Filipinos. In the article by cnn-alive.com, it claimed that Trump assured the Filipino Community in the United States that their families from the Philippines would be allowed to visit them as much as possible.
The article also mentioned that Trump intended to include the Philippines in the DV Lottery Program and make them eligible to apply for the program by 2018.
However, after a thorough investigation, Meme Buster did not find any official statement from Trump that is related to the claims of this article, may it be during the campaign period or after he took office.
Immigrants in the United States are now facing a tough time as they are all being sent back to their countries or being detained in US airports. Protests are being held in eight major US airports to stop officers from sending the immigrants out.
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Moreover, the “safety” of Filipinos in the US that the fake article would like to portray does not seem to be true as Filipino immigrants are now joining in the protests in the United States.
According to the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, the organization that had been joining protests in California and New York against Trump’s immigrant policies, the threat against Filipinos, especially the undocumented ones, is real. The Filipino Community is expressing their concern especially since Trump labeled the Philippines as one of the “terrorist nations” whose citizens should not be allowed in the US.
CNN special envoy to the US, Babe Romualdez, said that there is already a list from the US Department of Homeland Security of 310,000 Filipinos that are up for deportation.
The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that out of 3.4 million Filipinos in the US, around 310,000 are undocumented.
Romualdez said that he did not personally see the list but Filipinos should just be prepared to go home.
“They too are vulnerable to this policy of Trump,” he said.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim said, though, that Filipinos are still welcome to the US as they will continue to process Filipino visa applicants.
Last August, Trump named the Philippines, among other countries, as one of the “terrorist nations” who have people who are “animals” and who shouldn’t be allowed to enter America because it is hard to vet them.
Sources: (cnnphilippines.com, gmanetwork.com, philstar.com)
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